


let's run it back (for you and me)

by rainydayscribbles



Series: can't count the years on one hand that we've been together [1]
Category: Never Have I Ever (TV)
Genre: Banter, F/M, Fluff, Unreliable Narrator, and need to come to terms with their feelings, but some of devis pov bc shes a gem, mainly from bens pov tho, theyre going to college together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 08:20:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24846697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainydayscribbles/pseuds/rainydayscribbles
Summary: Devi Vishwakumar and Ben Gross attend another Model UN conference. This time, it's senior year.
Relationships: Ben Gross/Devi Vishwakumar
Series: can't count the years on one hand that we've been together [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1888549
Comments: 26
Kudos: 123





	let's run it back (for you and me)

**Author's Note:**

> hello guys *looks down sheepishly* i am here with another ben/devi fic. this time it's high school bc i have been wanting to write this for a few days. it's just some cute banter/fluff but def also features ben/devi coming to terms with their feelings. mainly from bens pov but there is also a little devis pov in here bc i couldn't make up my mind. also had to include the america's sweetheart line bc that is MY FAV LINE OF S1 but yes that's it i hope y'all enjoyyyy
> 
> ps this narration is all over the place and i am well aware of that so i apologize in advance

Devi waltzes into Mr. Shapiro's history class, straight up to Ben Gross, and throws a piece of paper on his desk.

Ben reads the words on the paper, confused and a little concerned. "David, you're going to the Model UN conference? How? I thought you got banned," Ben says, incredulously.

Ben's not _actually_ upset that Devi is going to Model UN, just more confused. After growing up with Devi for 18 years, and being friends? (Ben wasn't quite sure what they were, and the combination of former enemies and people who had kissed once wasn't _exactly_ a definite description), he had understood her habits. Devi was a runner, and after Malibu, she ran. To Paxton, specifically. Ben wasn't necessarily mad at her, per se, madder at himself for letting his heart believe he had a chance with Devi. They had dated for a year while Paxton was still at Sherman Oaks, but broke up when he graduated. Ben's still not quite sure how he graduated (Paxton failed like every class _ever_ ) but he couldn't deny he was begrudgingly happy that Paxton was out of the picture. In the meantime, he had tried to push his feelings down, but spending time with Devi made them all come tumbling back. So he internally braces himself for her response, trying to ignore how his stomach feels all fluttery at the thought of a trip together. Even if it _was_ only to UC Davis.

"For a year, Gross. But now I'm back. It's my last chance to win that Best Delegate hammer."

"Again, it's a _gavel,_ " he replies impatiently. Ben honestly finds it a little cute she calls it a hammer.

"I know."

"Last time you went to MUN you tried to start World War III," Ben recalls, and although the memory is fond, he tries his best to not insert that fondness into his voice.

"I know that too."

At this point, he's just entirely confused. "So why are you going?"

Devi doesn't answer that, but glares at him instead.

* * *

Devi sits down next to him on the bus, wearing a men's Princeton sweatshirt with leggings and he swears his heart starts beating in overtime.

"Hey, Gross."

"Hey, um, David. Why are you sitting here?"

"I thought harassing you the whole bus ride would be a lot more fun that watching you check your phone for texts every 5 seconds."

" _What_? I do not do that," Ben insists, trying to ignore the heartbeat in his chest. _How could she have seen that? Was she watching him?_ He furrows his eyebrows at his thoughts.

"Whatever, Gross. Just keep in mind it makes you look lame," Devi says.

"Not as lame as you look wearing that Princeton sweatshirt," he retorts, regretting it the second he says it, because she doesn't look _all_ that bad in orange. Especially when that shade of orange is the same as his phone case.

"I'm literally going to Princeton. _How_ does representing my school make me look lame?"

"You look like a try-hard." Ben knows it's not the best argument. Because if anyone was a try-hard, it was him. They were both technically the biggest try-hards.

"Says the guy who owns basically every single thing from the Princeton Student Stores." Devi hates that he owns so much Princeton stuff. Everyone _understands_ he got in. They understood it on Decision Day, where he showed up looking like the Lorax, all orange and hairy. A _very_ small part of her gets excited to see orange on him, but he never needed to know that.

He can't think of an adequate response to that, so he just shuts up.

* * *

Ben can't help it. He's nervous. Even though the main portion of the conference is the next day, and he spent _hours_ preparing for it, he can't stop the shaking of his leg in his grey Princeton sweatpants (okay, _maybe_ he does own a substantial portion of Student Stores) as he sits on his bed, trying to calm his nerves by scrolling through Reddit. This was his last chance to win that Best Delegate Gavel since he lost it sophomore year ( _obviously_ , after his standoff with Devi), and didn't end up going to the Model UN junior year, too focused on AP exams.

 _Fuck it_ , he thinks, getting up to leave his hotel room, closing the door with a bang. He is just walking down the hotel corridor, hands in pockets and nervous gaze down, when he turns the corner and runs straight into something _soft_.

" _Ben!_ What the fuck?"

Ben is speechless, because Devi looks, _well_ , she looks _nice_. In a way he's never seen her look before, like casual and almost _intimate_. She's still wearing her sweatshirt from earlier, but she's also wearing impossibly short shorts, shorts he can barely see under her sweatshirt. His head spins as he stares at her legs, long and tan, vaguely registering that she's not wearing shoes.

He tries not to think about the fact that both of them combined, standing here, look like a walking advertisement for Princeton. The constant reminder that they'll be in the same place for the next four years both excites him and scares him at the same time.

"Ben. What are you doing?" Devi demands angrily, meeting his eyes.

"I'm going for a walk, David. Is that illegal?" Ben knows she wasn't referring to his angry hallway walk, but she _really_ wishes she wouldn't ask him about where his gaze actually was. He's not sure if he can explain that without this conversation going downhill.

"Obviously, that's not what I was talking about, Gross. I was _talking_ about you staring at my legs."

Of _course_ , she would ask him. This is Devi Vishwakumar, after all. She has no filter.

"I wasn't looking at your legs! I was looking at the ground and then noticed you weren't wearing shoes, that's all."

Devi gives him a look that tells him she doesn't buy it. "I knew you had a foot fetish."

 _Jesus Christ_. He's overcome with a sudden urge to either strangle her or push her back against the wall. He decides on neither.

"Oh my god, David. I do not have a foot fetish. Besides, why are you even outside of your room? Without shoes on?"

"I was just running out to get some water," she says, holding up her water bottle. "And I never wear shoes at home, so it's just habit."

Ben nods, thinking about the fact that he hates this topic, more than any other topic that they've argued about. But he doesn't necessarily want to stop talking to Devi, so he tries again.

"You ready for tomorrow?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, Gross. Don't bother studying for that Best Delegate gavel, because you won't get it."

"Yeah, Vishwakumar. I just keep thinking about you nuking everyone sophomore year, and it brings me immense comfort to know you're not actual competition."

Contrary to what he expects, Devi laughs.

"Oh god, I was a mess back then. I was just trying to figure so many things out that year."

Ben softens. "I know, Devi. It's okay."

"But us walking in on that alcohol closet had to be my good luck of the decade. Because that was clutch."

"It really was. We made the Model UN kids pretty happy that day."

Devi smiles at him. "Do you wanna, um, just sit down? We can, like, keep talking."

Ben's heart jumps, regardless of his efforts to push it down. "Sure," he says, sitting down and leaning his head against the wall of the hotel. Devi sits across from him, stretching her legs out, and he almost smiles, remembering a similar scenario from two years ago in this same hotel.

"So, David. Excited for Princeton?" Ben curses himself right after, not immensely proud of his conversation starters at the moment. Luckily for him, Devi takes it in stride.

"Yeah, honestly, I am. I've wanted it for so long, you know? And it'll be nice to get away from my mom for a few years."

He laughs. "Yeah. Dr. Vishwakumar can be kinda scary."

"You're telling me. Be thankful she's not _your_ mom."

"I am. But she cares about you, at least. That means a lot." Ben fights to keep the sadness out of his voice here, but it creeps in the slightest bit. But the way Devi is looking at him is comforting, so he tries not to kick himself too hard for it.

"She does. We got a lot closer after Malibu."

Devi stops suddenly, looking away from him, as Ben thinks about what happened at Malibu. The kiss that convinced Ben Gross he had feelings for her. The kiss he still thinks about two years later. The kiss that was the reason he was going to Princeton.

"A lot of things happened that day," Ben says softly.

Devi picks at the carpet of the floor nervously, still avoiding eye contact with Ben.

"Do you, uh, ever think about those other things?"

Ben nearly stops breathing, because she can't be talking about what he thinks she's talking about, right? _Goddamnit_ , he _knew_ he should have just stayed in his room. Reddit didn't wear insanely short shorts and ask him hard questions.

Ben clears his throat, picking the floor of the carpet too, looking away from Devi.

"Yeah, I do."

"I do too. A lot."

Ben jerks his head up, heart jumping into his throat. _She thinks about the kiss too, she thinks about the kiss too_ , is all that's running in his mind, as he stares at the side of her face, trying to will her with his mind to look up.

"Hey, David?"

Devi finally looks up, eyes questioning, and a little tentative.

"I like that sweatshirt on you."

Devi smiles, a real, genuine, smile, that starts from her mouth and travels to her eyes, which makes his blood run through his veins faster, he _swears_ it does.

"Wanna be allies tomorrow?" she asks, and he smiles back, answering wordlessly.

* * *

They do end up being allies, Devi as Equatorial Guinea, and Ben as the United States, obviously. Ben wins the Best Delegate Gavel, and Devi can't bring herself to be mad at him, because he's staring at it with so much pride and happiness that her heart softens a little.

* * *

Ben gets onto the bus for the ride back, wearing his Princeton hoodie. He really should've planned better about what to bring for the trip, because everything is orange, and it's a pretty hard color to wear head to toe. But it is _his_ fault for buying the majority of Student Stores. The only reason he did was to impress Devi, so he might as well wear it when she can see it, right?

"Hey, Gross," Devi is standing near his seat, dressed in her sweatshirt from earlier.

He can't help but think it was some great irony they both were dressed in nearly matching outfits, but he knows it wasn't. Seniors wear their college colors all the time.

"Can I sit here?"

His eyes grow wide, involuntarily. "Yeah, um, yeah. Of course."

She plops down, putting her leg up and turning so she faces him in the seat. "So, Best Delegate gavel. Congrats."

Ben smiles brightly, trying to still his suddenly racing heart. Devi's praise, which he got so rarely, meant more than anyone else's, although he would never tell her that. "Thanks. I'm glad I won it."

"I mean, obviously, I went easier on you. That's the only reason you won it."

"Sure, Vishwakumar. I'll make sure to keep telling myself that," Ben says, unbelievingly. He's seen her put in the effort before, and he's seen her slack (very rarely, but after her dad's death), and he recognized what happened this morning as effort. But he can tell she is proud of him, and that's all that matters.

"You better tell yourself that at Princeton too, because I'm not gonna stop trying to beat you there either."

"Oh, I'd be surprised if you did." His smirk deepens now, but he can't bring himself to fill it with mirth.

"Oh, also, Gross? You really should stop trying to copy me with the orange. We both know I pull it off better."

"No one's arguing that point, Devi."

She smirks softly, and leans back against the armrest. Her knee brushes his thigh gently, but neither of them moves to stop the contact. As they both gaze at each other, wordlessly, something changes in the air between them. As if the end of a very long rain shower was finally here. Or as if the sun had come out after weeks of darkness. 

"You remember back in sophomore year? When you called me America's sweetheart?"

Ben looks at her, bites his lip nervously in response.

"You were America, Gross."

"I was. I still am."

Devi smiles, and leans in. 

**Author's Note:**

> thank u for reading pls lmk what y'all think!1!1
> 
> i'd love to hear from you guys! [tumblr](https://ravenclawbutcrabby.tumblr.com/)


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